What is the difference between Pirsch and Countly?

Pirsch is best for Privacy-focused teams wanting simple web analytics, while Countly is best for Mobile app teams wanting open-source analytics. Pirsch starts at $4/mo and Countly starts at Free.

Is Pirsch or Countly cheaper?

Pirsch starts at $4/mo with a free tier. Countly starts at Free and is free.

Is there a free alternative to Countly?

Both Pirsch and Countly offer free tiers.

Pirsch vs Countly

Pirsch is privacy-friendly web analytics with no cookies, made and hosted in Germany, while Countly is open-source product analytics for mobile, web, and desktop with crash reporting. The biggest difference up front: Countly is free, while Pirsch starts at $4/mo. Pirsch is built for privacy-focused teams wanting simple web analytics, whereas Countly targets mobile app teams wanting open-source analytics.

At a glance

	Pirsch	Countly
Best for	Privacy-focused teams wanting simple web analytics	Mobile app teams wanting open-source analytics
Starting price	$4/mo	Free
Free tier	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Free tier available	✓	✓
Open source	—	✓
Cookie-Free	✓	—
Crash Reports	—	✓
Events	✓	—
GDPR-Ready	✓	—
Mobile Analytics	—	✓
Push Notifications	—	✓
Server-Side	✓	—
Surveys	—	✓

Pirsch

Strengths

Includes Cookie-Free as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Includes GDPR-Ready as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Free for 2.5K pageviews — generous enough for most small teams to get real work done
Includes server-side alongside the core feature set — fewer separate tools needed

Weaknesses

Free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Data accuracy depends on tracking setup — misconfigured events give misleading results
Limited team/admin features if your organization eventually scales up

Try Pirsch → Full review

Countly

Strengths

Open source and transparent
Includes Mobile Analytics as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Fully open-source — you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in
The core product is free with no paywalled essentials

Weaknesses

May lack some advanced features
Self-hosting is free but requires server maintenance and DevOps knowledge
Fewer built-in features means you may need additional tools to cover gaps
Data accuracy depends on tracking setup — misconfigured events give misleading results

Try Countly → Full review

The bottom line

Pricing: Countly is completely free, which makes it the obvious pick if budget is the top concern. Pirsch starts at $4/mo, but Free for 2.5K pageviews. That cost buys you a more polished or feature-rich experience, so it comes down to whether the extras justify the spend.

Feature gaps: Pirsch offers Cookie-Free, Events and GDPR-Ready that Countly lacks. Countly brings Crash Reports, Mobile Analytics and Push Notifications that Pirsch does not have.

Team fit: Pirsch is geared toward small teams teams, while Countly is aimed at mid-size teams teams. Pick the one that matches where your team is today and where it is headed — migrating tools later is always painful.

Open source: Countly is open source, meaning you can self-host, audit the code, and avoid vendor lock-in. Pirsch is proprietary — you are trusting the vendor with your data and uptime.

Where each tool shines: Pirsch's biggest strengths are: includes cookie-free as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows. includes gdpr-ready as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows. Countly's biggest strengths are: open source and transparent. includes mobile analytics as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows.

Watch out for: With Pirsch, users commonly note that free plan exists but key features are locked behind the paid upgrade. With Countly, the main complaint is that may lack some advanced features.

Choose Pirsch if...

You need a tool built for privacy-focused teams wanting simple web analytics
You specifically need Cookie-Free and Events
You care about includes gdpr-ready as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows
Your team size fits the small teams profile Pirsch is designed for
The free tier works for you: free for 2.5k pageviews

Choose Countly if...

You need a tool built for mobile app teams wanting open-source analytics
Budget is a hard constraint — Countly is free, Pirsch is not
You need self-hosting, data sovereignty, or the ability to audit source code
You specifically need Crash Reports and Mobile Analytics
You care about includes mobile analytics as a core feature, purpose-built for analytics workflows